space
head
head head head
Home Contact RSS Feed
COMICS   •   MOVIES   •   MUSIC   •   TELEVISION   •   GAMES   •   BOOKS
Marvel Comics Introduces 15 Year Old Black Girl As New Iron Man
space
eelyajekiM   |  @   |  

Riri Williams

Comic books have had a huge impact on superhero movies. We really wouldn’t have the Marvel Cinematic Universe without them. But just as they have an impact on the big screen, they can also bring out social and progressive change. In recent years we’ve seen Marvel pull in to express diversity in gender and race. Sam Wilson became Captain America, and Jane Foster became Thor. Both were significant (and very welcomed) changes for the comics. But with comics, nothing is ever permanent. Characters who died can come back to life. Enemies are now allies. And revelations are sometimes controversial, like when Captain America and Hydra controversy, which was then resolved a few weeks later.

Now Marvel is taking another step forward in the right direction. This time with Iron Man. In a recent interview, Brian Michael Bendis said the mantle of the Iron Man name will be going to a 15-year-old black girl named Riri Williams. More on the story below.

Speaking with Time Magazine, Bendis explained the origin of Riri Williams:

“One of the things that stuck with me when I was working in Chicago a couple of years ago on a TV show that didn’t end up airing was the amount of chaos and violence. And this story of this brilliant, young woman whose life was marred by tragedy that could have easily ended her life””just random street violence””and went off to college was very inspiring to me. I thought that was the most modern version of a superhero or superheroine story I had ever heard. And I sat with it for awhile until I had the right character and the right place.”

Bendis speaks as though he is creating these characters not only to reflect on the diversity of our times but our social situations. We often hear inspiring stories of the youth who rise above the troubled situations they are forced to live with to become something more than a product of the environment.

“Talking to any of the older creators, it’s the thing they said they wish they’d done more of””reflecting the world around them. It just wasn’t where the world was at that time. Now, when you have a young woman come up to you at a signing and say how happy she is to be represented in his universe, you know you’re moving in the right direction.”

So, who is Riri Williams? Well, like what Tony Stark did for Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, the Tony Stark of the comics is aware of Riri’s existence. The 15-year-old prodigy is a student at M.I.T who built her own Iron Man suit. With Civil War II (this time he is at odds with Captain Marvel over the use of psychic predetermination to battle villains before they act – think Minority Report but with superheroes) currently going on, Stark needs some downtime and hands over the name of Iron Man to Riri.

As aforementioned, this kind of change is a welcomed one, especially since it is a positive reflection of our current times. Not only has Marvel changed the way we see race and gender, but now they have taken that idea further by exploring ageism. Don’t worry, Stark will always be Iron Man, and he will probably come back to don the suit of armor. Hopefully his down time will give enough time for Riri to establish herself. It should be interesting to see how much of this change will have an impact on how we will see the MCU in future years. Could we ever see a young black woman become Iron Man? I really do hope so.

Image

New Iron Man Riri Williams

[Source: Time]

2 Comments »

  1. I frigin love this. They have to use this are RDJ’s out from the role on screen after Thanos. SO much potential here. Well played Marvel.

    Comment by Gussy2000 — July 6, 2016 @ 8:54 pm

  2. Awesome! I might buy a couple of copies to give to friends.

    Comment by TheseAreComics — July 7, 2016 @ 2:15 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

space
Topics: Comics, News
space
Previous Article
space
Next Article
«
»
space
space
space
Amazon.com
space
You may have noticed that we're now AD FREE! Please support Geeks of Doom by using the Amazon Affiliate link above. All of our proceeds from the program go toward maintaining this site.
space
Geeks of Doom on Twitter Geeks of Doom on Facebook Geeks of Doom on Instagram Follow Geeks of Doom on Tumblr Geeks of Doom on YouTube Geeks of Doom Email Digest Geeks of Doom RSS Feed
space
space
space
space
The Drill Down Podcast TARDISblend Podcast Westworld Podcast
2023  ·   2022  ·   2021  ·   2020  ·   2019  ·   2018  ·   2017  ·   2016  ·   2015  ·   2014  ·  
2013  ·   2012  ·   2011  ·   2010  ·   2009  ·   2008  ·   2007  ·   2006  ·   2005
space
Geeks of Doom is proudly powered by WordPress.

Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press

Geeks of Doom is designed and maintained by our geeky webmaster
All original content copyright ©2005-2023 Geeks of Doom
All external content copyright of its respective owner, except where noted
space
Creative Commons License
This website is licensed under
a Creative Commons License.
space
About | Privacy Policy | Contact
space